30 June is International Asteroid Day

Image Source: the United Nations

30 June is observed as International Asteroid Day by the United Nations.

It is observed on 30 June to commemorate the Tunguska impact, an explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia in 1908. This explosion was most likely caused due to a meteor impact and is one of the most powerful explosions the world has ever seen. It was so powerful that various studies say that it produced 185 times more energy than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. It also destroyed around 2000 sq. km of the Taiga forest!

This day is observed to raise awareness about the role of asteroids in the formation of the universe, the impact of asteroids on the earth and how we can protect the earth from asteroid impacts.

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